French soldier dies in Mali road accident

A French soldier stationed in Mali was killed when his jeep tipped into a ditch, France’s ministry of defence said on Wednesday, bringing the death toll of French soldiers in Mali to seven since operations began in January.

A French soldier stationed in Mali was killed in a road accident, France’s ministry of defence said in a statement on Wednesday.

Brigadier Marc Martin-Vallet, aged 28, died on Tuesday after the vehicle he was travelling in swerved to avoid a pothole, careened off the dirt road and tipped into a ditch about 20 km from the central Malian town of Douentza, the statement said.

Another soldier travelling in the same logistics convoy was injured.

Six French soldiers have been killed in combat since the beginning of the French military operation in Mali in January.

Some 4,000 troops remain in the country, but another 2,000 are due to be pulled out by the end of the summer as a UN-mandated African mission takes over.